National Screening Program for Obesity

National Screening Program for Obesity

Obesity is the commonest nutritional disorder in developed countries; 40% of Maltese children are overweight/obese. Malta is the most obese EU nation. It has important health consequences - heart disease, strokes, diabetes & cancer. Screening for obesity & offering dietitian programs @MDH, will result in lower incidences of a no. of illnesses. This will improve the health status of our population; result in less being spent to treat the above-mentioned diseases & more employment for dietitians.

Points

US Preventative Task Force supports Screening all adults for Obesity Supporting Evidence : https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/tools-resources/evidence-based-resource/obesity-in-adults-screening-and-management Clinicians should offer or refer patients with a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or higher to intensive, multicomponent behavioral interventions.

If BMI had to be used as a measure to screen obesity(since it's the easiest) then there might be pitfalls due to gender, age and ethnic differences in body fat composition and distribution coupled with increased reliance on self-reported values of weight and height. Solution : establishment of gender-, age- and ethnicity-based cut-offs of BMI, tailored to specific populations, Source: https://goo.gl/kawfdG

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